


The Night is So Long

by invisibledaemon



Series: Woke Me Up Right After Two [1]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Spoilers for Vol 2, post movie fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-06
Updated: 2017-05-06
Packaged: 2018-10-28 20:47:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10839162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/invisibledaemon/pseuds/invisibledaemon
Summary: Unsurprisingly, Peter had a little trouble sleeping after everything that went down.*SPOILERS for Vol 2*





	The Night is So Long

**Author's Note:**

> I have about a million fic ideas running through my head, but this is the one that wanted to be written first. 
> 
> Like it says in the summary, here be spoilers for the INCREDIBLE vol 2. 
> 
> Title is from 'Come A Little Bit Closer' by Jay and the Americans, from the soundtrack.

Night after night, Peter was drawn to this couch. It was where he was sitting when he first listened to the Zune. It was also the best place on the ship to see the Milano out the window. This planet had several moons, so it was illuminated even in the middle of the night. It was a comfort to see his – _their_ \- ship so close to being fixed.

They’d come back for it after Yondu’s funeral. The Milano was small and cramped – and set to be even more so, now that they had to make room for Mantis, too – but it was theirs. Plus it was nice to sit still for a while. Peter certainly wasn’t ready to jump back into galaxy-saving or bounty-chasing yet, and he was sure the others felt the same.

He hadn’t slept properly in days. The nightmares had gotten to the point he was afraid to close his eyes; seemed like every time he blinked he was back in Ego’s core.

_He watches his friends die around him. Gamora is right in front of him, fading away. He reaches for her but she disappears before he’s even lifted his arms. He hears Ego’s voice say that this is his destiny: to live forever without the people he loves._

So he turned up his Zune and did his best to drown out the thoughts.

The small machine still felt strange to him. He was grateful for it, but he would always miss his Walkman. When he’d told Gamora what Ego had done to it, she’d clenched her fists and said it was a good thing they’d already killed him. They’d spent several minutes coming up with creative ways to kill him anyway; Peter had been both impressed and scared by how many ways Gamora could think of.  

Besides that, they didn’t talk about Ego much – none of them did. They’d spent the last couple of days just being together, often doing their separate things in the same communal space.

He and Rocket repaired the ship side by side, sharing responsibility instead of fighting over it. Groot danced; he was almost as happy as Peter to have so much new music to listen to. Mantis got used to being around people. He’d considered asking her to help him sleep, but remembered that was the only reason Ego had kept her around. She’d spent her whole life being used for her abilities, but that was over now. Kraglin practiced working Yondu’s arrow; Drax forgave him for the resulting injuries. And Gamora…

Gamora smiled at him more. He bumped her shoulder when he was feeling playful and she bumped back. They went for another walk through the woods and she let him hold her hand.

Last night she kissed him on the cheek before going to bed.

He was still replaying the kiss in his mind when he sensed movement behind him. He wasn’t surprised to see Gamora there. He smiled, always happy to see her, even when that meant they were both awake in the middle of the night. Her lips quirked up slightly in return.

She sat down next to him without a word, close enough for their thighs and arms to touch with every movement. He offered her one of his earbuds and she took it, slipping it into her ear and leaning her head against his shoulder. A warm feeling settled in his chest and he closed his eyes, for a moment feeling content.

They got through several songs before she spoke.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Her voice was raspy with exhaustion. Peter knew she was having nightmares, too.

“I…” he hesitated for a moment. Fleetwood Mac was distracting him, so he pulled out his earbud, Gamora’s falling out with it. She lifted her head to look at him, her eyes worried and caring; he was pretty sure he’d tell her anything.

“I’m afraid I might still be immortal.”

She scrunched her brow. “You said the light in your palms went out after Ego disappeared.”

He nodded. “I know, I just…”

“And didn’t Ego say you were only immortal so long as his core still lived?”

“What if he was wrong, though?” He whispered. “What if he was lying?” _What if I have to watch you die someday?_

“I don’t think he was, Peter. But you can find out. Have you tried to use your powers again?”

He shook his head. “Honestly? I’m afraid to know.”

“You’ll feel better once you know. Even if you are still immortal. Uncertainty is often the worst part.”

He sighed, knowing she was right but heart still pounding in his chest as he raised his hands. Over the past several nights, he’d thought about trying to tap into his powers. The thing that stopped him was that he’d have _no idea_ what to do if it turned out he could still use them, because that could only mean he was still celestial, still immortal. But now with Gamora beside him, he felt stronger, like at least he’d have someone there to help him if the worst turned out to be true.

Also it was just really hard to say no to her.  

Using his heart instead of his head, he concentrated on the other Guardians; on Yondu; Gamora. He remembered watching the Ravagers honor a fallen member, arm around the woman he loved beside him. He thought and _felt_ for a long moment.

Nothing.

Relief flooded him, bursting out of him with a laugh as he stared at his empty hands. Not even a spark.

“See?” Gamora nudged him. “I knew it.”

“Another _I told you so_ ,” he muttered. She was giving him a soft look, and he was probably grinning at her like a love-sick moron.

“Think you can sleep now?” She asked.

“If you stay with me.” He lifted his arm, sinking further into the couch to get comfortable. She hummed, probably trying for one of those unamused looks she used to give him but succeeding only in a little smirk. Her head sunk onto his chest and he wrapped his arm around her, tilting his head to rest on hers.

He fell asleep in minutes, lulled by the feel of Gamora in his arms and the faint sounds of music still coming from the earbuds.

**Author's Note:**

> This is probably the fastest I've ever written and published a fic after a movie, so sorry if there's more mistakes than usual!


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